When a consumer receives service at a business establishment, such as at a restaurant or a electronics store, the user forms an opinion about the service received. For example, a user may receive exceptional or poor service, which may influence the consumer's willingness to return for that service at that particular location of the business establishment. Consumer opinions may also influence others to whom the consumer provides his/her opinion (e.g., friends, family, etc.). Today, with websites that specialize in posting consumer reviews of business establishments in the service industry, consumers that receive any type of service are able to provide his or her opinion to any other current or potential consumer of the same or similar type of service (e.g., vacation spots, restaurants, retail store services, guest speakers at business conventions, etc.).
Generally, to provide feedback, a consumer may use an online database that collects rating information regarding a particular business establishment at a location. More specifically, a consumer typically uses a computer (or other electronic device) to provide feedback to a database that collects and displays rating information related to a service received at a particular location (or at a business establishment located at a particular location).
For example, consider the scenario in which a consumer is dining at a restaurant. The consumer typically forms an opinion while eating and waits until after the meal has completed and after retuning home to provide a review of the restaurant for other potential consumers. Conventionally, this involves the consumer posting his/her opinion about the quality of the food, the ambiance of the restaurant, etc., on a website using a personal computer from his/her home or office. Occasionally, a consumer may attempt to show emotion behind the review by providing a written review using capital letters and/or extreme words.
As another example, consider the scenario in which a participant attends a convention with multiple guest speakers at different times of the day and several booths set up for different services being offered. In this case, the participant may wish to rate the different booths based on a set of criteria or rate the guest speakers on the quality of the presentation. Typically, the participant may offer his/her opinion after the convention has completed by providing evaluations cards or surveys that are taken by the organization that set up the convention. Alternatively, the participant may post ratings of the convention in general on a website.
Most consumers that provide reviews about an entity often have a strong emotion regarding the business establishment. Specifically, consumers who do not have a strong emotion about the service received at the entity rarely have the desire to spend the time necessary to review the business establishment. For example, a consumer who receives poor service at a restaurant often provides a review of the restaurant. Likewise, user who receives exceptional service also provides a review the restaurant. However, users who receive acceptable or slightly better than average service often do not provide a review of the service received at the restaurant.
When a person (i.e., an evaluator) is attempting to evaluate an entity using the reviews provided by consumers, the evaluator must shift though multiple reviews and evaluate the business establishment using solely the text of the review provided. Specifically, using only the text of the review for the business establishment, the evaluator must determine the helpfulness, accuracy, veracity, tone, etc. of the review. Ultimately, the consumer makes a decision whether to consume the service offered by the business establishment based on the review.